Girls in technology

Girls in technology has been an annual event on the Reykjavik  University event calendar for the last five years. Girls from 9th grade are invited to attend workshops related to computer science and engineering at the University and to visit tech-companies. The aim is to interest girls in technology studies and jobs within the sector, to introduce them to industry role-models, break down stereotypes and show them the versatility inherent in this field of study. The event has grown every year and in 2018, about half of all girls in 9th grade participated, or 900 girls from around 50 elementary schools in
Reykjavik and in N-Iceland. Close to 40 companies invited the girls for a visit. The event gets considerable news coverage and attention on social media every year and it is an important part of RU‘s effort to attract more girls to study computer science and engineering. This effort has been fruitful as evident in the fact that in 2010, 13% of new students in computer science at RU were girls. In 2018 this number was up to 28%. The event is held in collaboration with the Federation of
Icelandic Industries and the Icelandic Computer Association. In 2018 it was sponsored by LS Retail. It is modeled on the International Girls in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Day.

Thorunn Hilda Jonasdottir is Event Manager at the Department of Marketing and Communication at Reykjavík University. She has BSc degree in corporate law.

Circus speaker:

Þórunn Hilda Jónasdóttir, Event Manager, Marketing and Communications, Reykjavík University

Website: ru.is
Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/thj-141b61b7/
Email: thorunnhilda@ru.is